Sexual Orientation Conversion Therapy: Should it be banned?

Sexual Orientation Conversion Therapy: Should it be banned? Sexual orientation conversion therapy, a range of treatments that aims to turn the sexual orientation from homosexual to heterosexual, is controversial in many countries (Haldeman, 2002). While conversion therapy is banned in some countries due to its ethical concern, its efficacy is debatable. This article argues that homosexual should have the right to choose whether to be treated or not, the ban exploit the right of homosexual and leading them no choice but to hold the sexual orientation. The essay begins with a brief historical overview of the development of conversion therapy, and then moves on to anaylse in detail the arguments of the ban in relation to the following aspects: ethic concerns, effectiveness and the right of homosexual. The essay concludes that homosexual should have to right to choose whether to attend the therapy or not, and therefore the sexual orientation conversion therapy should not be banned. Sexual orientation conversion therapy includes a wide range of approaches, from psychoanalytic approaches to behavioral approaches. Aversive treatment, which is included in behavioral approaches, includes the application of electric shock or drugs. Apart from these cruel methods, sexual orientation conversion therapy also makes use of social skills training and visualization (Haldeman, 2002). After the sexual orientation conversion therapy is introduced, many ethical concerns have been raised. The main ethical concern is whether homosexuality or bisexuality should be considered as illnesses or not. According to Tozer and McClanahan (1999), the introduction of sexual orientation conversion therapy indicates that homosexual, which was declassified as mental illness for nearly three decades, can be “treated” is violating the ethical guideline. Therefore, it can be believed that the introduction of sexual orientation conversion therapy may imply discrimination on homosexual. Base on...

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A person’s sexual, emotional, or romantic attraction to another
person is usually the way to describe sexualorientation. When a
person is attracted to the same sex, they are considered
homosexual. When a person is attracted to someone of the
opposite sex, they are considered heterosexual. Attraction to
both men and women is called bisexuality. The idea of sexualorientation states to more than just the sexual behavior of a
person. It involves one’s feelings and character as a person.
Though some people believe sexualorientation to be instinctive
and stable, it develops over time in a person’s life. An individual
can become aware of his/her sexuality at a different point in
their life than others.
Most of those who look for a reason as to why people are
homosexual people still think it comes from a mental disorder.
All key professional mental health establishments confirm on
record that homosexuality is not a disorder. Homosexuality was
removed from the official diagnostic manual of the American
Psychiatric Association board of trustees in 1973. Though it was
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By Robert Knight The debate over homosexual “marriage” often becomes focused on whether homosexuality is a learned behavior or a genetic trait. Many homosexual activists insist that “science” has shown that homosexuality is inborn, cannot be changed, and that therefore they should have the “right to marry” each other. Beginning in the early 1990s, activists began arguing that scientific research has proven that homosexuality has a genetic or hormonal cause. A handful of studies, none of them replicated and all exposed as methodologically unsound or misrepresented, have linked sexualorientation to everything from differences in portions of the brain,1,2 to genes,3 finger length,4 inner ear differences,5 eye-blinking,6 and “neuro-hormonal differentiation.”7 Meanwhile, Columbia University Professor of Psychiatry Dr. Robert Spitzer, who was instrumental in removing homosexuality in 1973 from the American Psychiatric Association’s list of mental disorders, wrote a study published in the October 2003 Archives of Sexual Behavior. He contended that people can change their “sexualorientation” from homosexual to
D.F. Swaab and M.A. Hofman, Brain Res. 537 (1990): 141-48, as cited in Dennis McFadden and E.G. Pasanen, “Comparisons of the auditory systems of heterosexuals and homosexuals: Click-evoked otoacoustic emissions,”...

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Along with bisexuality and heterosexuality, homosexuality is one of the three main categories of sexualorientation within the heterosexual–homosexual continuum.[1] There is no consensus among scientists about why a person develops a particular sexualorientation;[1] however, biologically-based theories for the cause of sexualorientation are favored by experts,[3] which point to genetic factors, the early uterine environment, or both in combination.[4] There is no substantive evidence which suggests parenting or early childhood experiences play a role when it comes to sexualorientation;[4] when it comes to same-sex sexual behavior, shared or familial environment plays no role for men and minor role for women.[5] While some...

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Psychologists say that sexuality is determined in the early stages of childhood but is not a conscious decision. Basically, people are born with their sexuality. That being said, many parents assume there might be something off about their child if they show interest in activities meant for the opposite sex. If their little girl doesn’t like to dress up and would rather play in the dirt, parents start to get suspicious. If their little boy likes dolls and is not all that...

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According to the article SexualOrientation Discrimination, there are many types of discrimination. Sexualorientation discrimination is when someone treats another individual differently solely because of his or her sexualorientation (SexualOrientation Discrimination 1). There are also many different types of stereotypes that I think lead to discrimination. It’s just a phase, all gay men will die from aids, all gay men are feminine or desire to be women, someone made him gay (Ramon Johnson 1), these are all examples of stereotypes in which I think leads to discrimination. While people think these thoughts about homosexuals, they may tend to treat them differently because of it. Some examples of discrimination in the workplace are that you are not being hired, promoted, or fired because you are homosexual...

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